Basic terms
Key terms used across the Spectoda ecosystem. This overview helps you navigate the documentation.
General terms
Section titled “General terms”Spectoda Connect
Section titled “Spectoda Connect”Spectoda Connect is the user interface for controlling Spectoda lighting installations. It is available as a progressive web app and as a mobile app for phones and tablets.
It can control brightness, colour and other parameters depending on the device setup and the Network configuration. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android under the name Spectoda Connect.
Spectoda Studio
Section titled “Spectoda Studio”Spectoda Studio is the creator and configuration interface for Spectoda devices and installations. It is used mainly by technicians, designers and creators who define lighting behaviour, animations, controls and network setup before handing the installation to end users.
For current FW 0.12.x workflows, use Main Studio at main-studio.spectoda.com. Legacy FW 0.9.x workflows use studio.spectoda.com.
Spectoda ecosystem
Section titled “Spectoda ecosystem”The Spectoda Ecosystem is a network of connected products and technologies that work together to provide lighting control, automation, service and integrations.
Spectoda controller (SC)
Section titled “Spectoda controller (SC)”A Spectoda Controller is an ESP32-based control unit running Spectoda firmware. It is typically installed between a power supply, a luminaire, an LED strip, a sensor or another controlled device.
Multiple Spectoda Controllers can form a wireless mesh network. This replaces the need for a single central control unit in many installations.
Product
Section titled “Product”A Spectoda Product is a sellable or deployable unit in the ecosystem. It can be a controller, integrated luminaire, event prop, gateway or third-party device extended with a Spectoda layer.
Product family
Section titled “Product family”A Product Family is a group of related products, for example SC Industry, SC Linear, SC Pixel Mini or SC Dongle. It is useful for orientation in the product portfolio.
Product variant
Section titled “Product variant”A Product Variant is a concrete sellable branch of a product, for example SC Industry A, SC Linear B, SC Button A or SC Dongle A. A variant has its own technical parameters, documentation and links to pricing, stock and internal product data.
IO means controller inputs and outputs. It replaces older wording around ports and sensors. Examples include NEOPIXEL, GPO, GPIO, GPI, PWM, DALI and SACN.
The end customer who controls a prepared lighting installation. A user usually does not create new network settings and works with controls that were prepared in advance.
Creator
Section titled “Creator”A person who uses Spectoda Studio to set up a Spectoda Network. A creator defines behaviour, animations, sensors and user-facing controls for the installation.
Developer
Section titled “Developer”A person who develops Spectoda Studio, firmware, SDKs or another part of the Spectoda ecosystem. Developers are usually members of the Spectoda team or advanced technical partners.
Installation and network terms
Section titled “Installation and network terms”Network
Section titled “Network”A Network is one concrete mesh of Spectoda devices that behaves as one controlled unit.
Installation
Section titled “Installation”An Installation is the broader physical deployment at a customer site. It can include one or more Networks, service history, attachments and project context.
Network snapshot
Section titled “Network snapshot”A Network Snapshot is a saved configuration of one Spectoda Network. It can include UI elements, paired products, controller layout and other data needed for backup, service or redeployment.
Project
Section titled “Project”A Project in Spectoda Studio contains settings related to an installation: access rights, lighting behaviour, backup information, service data and connection to the user app.
Playground
Section titled “Playground”Playground is an unnamed local project for experimenting in Spectoda Studio. It can be used offline and can later be turned into a project.
TNGL is the animation language generated by Spectoda Studio and sent as instructions to Spectoda Controllers.
Live controls
Section titled “Live controls”Live controls are UI elements used to change Network behaviour in real time, for example by sending events from buttons, sliders or other controls.
Communication
Section titled “Communication”OTA update
Section titled “OTA update”OTA means over-the-air firmware update. In Spectoda, it is used to update firmware wirelessly from Spectoda Studio or Spectoda Connect to a compatible controller.
System revision
Section titled “System revision”System Revision is the low-level runtime profile of a controller, for example rev0 or rev1. It can describe partition layout, OTA slot size, bootloader behaviour, flash size or external RAM. Two controllers can run the same firmware version while using different system revisions.
Bluetooth Low Energy is used to connect Spectoda Connect to Spectoda Controllers from a phone, tablet or another supported device.
ESP-NOW
Section titled “ESP-NOW”ESP-NOW is a wireless communication protocol from Espressif. Spectoda uses it for direct wireless communication between controllers inside a Spectoda mesh network.
Gateway
Section titled “Gateway”A Gateway is specialised hardware, or a hardware role, that connects a Spectoda Network to cloud services, remote service and external integrations.
Bridge
Section titled “Bridge”Bridge is the software/runtime layer running inside a Gateway. It handles communication towards the server, cloud or other integrations.
Practical rule: Gateway = hardware, Bridge = software inside the Gateway.
Commissioning
Section titled “Commissioning”Commissioning is the process of adding a Spectoda Controller to a specific Spectoda Network and preparing it for operation.